Head gasket leaking Coolant. Options.

[misho]

Get a Chiltons / Haynes manual for torque specs.

Your Catalytic converter stops minimal smoke from exiting the exhaust tip, so it's hard to tell when they are burning oil.

Yea i like the haynes one, gonna get that.

I am going to go with all OEM parts, what do you guys think? Good idea?

 

[misho]

Guys, when you replaced your head gaskets, did you mill the heads?

 

[wood1]

mill only if they are found to be warped, I usually have them surfaced.

I read your thread yesterday, how much coolant are you losing and how quickly? I have had very good results using Barrs stopleak. My ex has used coolant ever since I bought it like 4-5 years ago, I throw some Barrs in every couple years or so. Works for me...

 

[misho]

mill only if they are found to be warped, I usually have them surfaced.

I read your thread yesterday, how much coolant are you losing and how quickly? I have had very good results using Barrs stopleak. My ex has used coolant ever since I bought it like 4-5 years ago, I throw some Barrs in every couple years or so. Works for me...

well I am not losing that much but after driving for a few weeks, enough air gets in the system that pushes everything and overfills the coolant reservoir and overheats the car. And yes I have tried using that stop leak stuff, but it didn't help much.

Whats the diff between milling and surfacing? Surfacing is just like a fine layer kinda like polishing? Will the heads be warped? They have 125k miles on them.

 

[wood1]

Sounds like a fair bit, your best bet would be to do your head gaskets.

Milling would remove a little from the mating surface while resurfacing will just give the head the finish that is required for a good seal. It is actually the opposite of polishing and roughens the mating surface giving it some "grip" on the head gasket. At least that's how it was explained to me by a very respected engine builder back in the day.

I would at the least have them checked for warping and cracks before putting them back on.

 

[misho]

Hey guys, quick question,

Are the heads the same in the 90-96 models as the 97 - 2000 (talking OHV only!)
Because I am looking at some ebay stuff and they say fits 90-96 :/
Help
Thanks!

 

[ranger7ltr]

The ohv heads are not the same between years...

The early heads [91-94 I believe] used larger combustion chambers and the engine had flatter top pistons...The 95-97 heads got smaller combustion chambers and the engine got larger dished pistons and the same size exhaust ports.

The 98-00 heads had the same size combustion chambers as the 95-97 heads but the exhaust port size was decreased by .3" in diameter for the fast burn characteristics of the engine design...

I have never ever used any stop leak product to stop a gasket leak especially a head gasket...And milling the Ford heads would make them even thinner than stock and the Ford head castings are prone to cracking...The new heads I installed are thicker and beefier in numerous places that tend to crack during normal service.

When I pulled my heads I found damage I didn't expect to find...Since I had new heads, instead of rebuilding the original block I bought a remaufactured short block from Motorcraft...Easiest and quickest solution to the engine repair...

To repair the original block if the block was workable it would have taken the same amount of time to machine and assemble the engine...To buy, pickup, remove and replace the shortblock took me 1.5 days working 4-5 hours each day and to add the heads and reassemble the rest of the engine took an additional 5 hr day...

While I can't speak for others I didn't have any issues disconnecting any connectors or removing or replacing any engine components as this wasn't my first engine repair and I just didn't want to have the truck sitting dead in the water so my time was of the essence...And knowing the Ford cylinder head problem I would not reuse stock heads on any engine I planned to drive...

 

[96eb96]

well I am not losing that much but after driving for a few weeks, enough air gets in the system that pushes everything and overfills the coolant reservoir and overheats the car. And yes I have tried using that stop leak stuff, but it didn't help much.

Whats the diff between milling and surfacing? Surfacing is just like a fine layer kinda like polishing? Will the heads be warped? They have 125k miles on them.

The heads should be sent off to a good machine shop. They will know exactly what to do. Also, you may want to consider getting new heads for the OHV. They tend to crack.

 

[misho]

Well, I originally wanted to get: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

It says it FITS 1995-2001, and this means according to ranger7ltr, that this would be impossible since the 98-00 use smaller exhaust ports ??
Now the problem is, I am in CANADA :'(, and the seller does not ship here. So I have to look for alternatives

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-FORD-RANGER-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56335f9ecc

Problem, this fits 90-96 Hmm.

Another option: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20addcbcd2
But I am not sure if he ships to Canada

Help me decide, i need to order before the weekend so it comes to my house by next friday
Thanks guys

Edit:: This seems like a good deal, and they ship worldwide, what do you guys think about the quality: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c4fccbfa6

Thx

 

[misho]

Well, I originally wanted to get: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

It says it FITS 1995-2001, and this means according to ranger7ltr, that this would be impossible since the 98-00 use smaller exhaust ports ??
Now the problem is, I am in CANADA :'(, and the seller does not ship here. So I have to look for alternatives

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-FORD-RANGER-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56335f9ecc

Problem, this fits 90-96 Hmm.

Another option: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20addcbcd2
But I am not sure if he ships to Canada

Help me decide, i need to order before the weekend so it comes to my house by next friday
Thanks guys

Edit:: This seems like a good deal, and they ship worldwide, what do you guys think about the quality: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c4fccbfa6

Thx

So what do you guys think will fit? These 1995-00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c4fccbfa6

VS: 98-00: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20addcbcd2

Thankss

 

[misho]

Wow, I thought it will be easier to buy this. It has been a few days and I am still waiting for an email back from the guys asking if they would ship to Canada.